The invention relates to a system for implementing a design for six sigma (DFSS) process. For any process (business, manufacturing, service, etc.), the sigma value is a metric that indicates how well that process is performing. The higher the sigma value, the better the output. Sigma measures the capability of the process to perform defect-free-work, where a defect is synonymous with customer dissatisfaction. With six sigma the common measurement index is defects-per-unit where a unit can be virtually anything--a component, a part of a jet engine, an administrative procedure, etc. The sigma value indicates how often defects are likely to occur. As sigma increases, customer satisfaction goes up along with improvement of other metrics (e.g., cost and cycle time).
The six sigma methodology has been used by a number of companies such as Motorola Semiconductors, Texas Instruments, Allied Signal and Digital Corporation. All of these companies use this process for a specific application such as semiconductor manufacturing in the case of Motorola and Texas Instruments. A drawback to specific applications of the six sigma process is that there is a lack of flexibility to allow for the existing implementation to be applied to other business processes.